daddy longlegs?

Question

i need a lot of details about the daddy longleg spider.

Answer 1

As the link above from jumbos_mom states, the notion that they are one of the most venomous spiders is a myth (although a common one).

More on the daddy-long-legs spider:
http://www.usq.edu.au/spider/find/spiders/508.htm
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/daddyvenom.html - harvestman also included

Where I grew up, harvestmen (not a true spider, but spider-like) were also called daddy-long-legs, so I'll include some info on them as well, in case these were what you meant. These have no venom glands or silk glands, and appear to have only one body segment (true spiders have two): http://www.hsu.edu/content.aspx?id=7439
http://wildflowers.jdcc.edu/Harvestman.html

Answer 2

Contrary to the popular belief that a daddy longlegs is the most poisonous spider there is, it's venom is harmless. It is supposed to be so deadly that it puts the black widow to shame, but it's fangs are so small that it can't even break the epidermous of our skin, rendering it harmless. This is not true, because the fangs can in fact penetrate the skin, but cause no more than a burning sensation. Another myth is that the daddy longlegs is not a true spider. This is also incorrect. Reguardless of the fact that they only have 6 legs, they are still considered arachnids. The are commanly confused with the harvestman, also called the daddy longlegs. These are not spiders. I love daddy longlegs, they're cute lil' fellahs. You can read all you like here on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daddy_long-legs_spider#Not_spiders.3F

Hope that helps ya in your search <3

Answer 3

If you want the truth then please ignor the incorrect answers given by these people who have already answered your question. They are mixing up two different animals and their information is wrong. Daddy Longlegs and Daddy Longlegs Spiders are two seperate animals. Neither one can hurt you. The first one is not a spider but is mistaken for one. It is Harvestmen or Opilionids. The second is an actual spider but not harmful to humans and is not even close to being a very venomous spider. I have studied these before and many nature programs have shown the seperate species. This website will tell you what you need to know and give you the facts. The website is spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html - 19k. However, in case you have trouble connecting to it here is a copy of that page.

Daddy-longlegs Myth
Have you heard this one?:

DADDY-LONGLEGS ARE ONE OF THE MOST POISONOUS SPIDERS BUT THEIR FANGS ARE TOO SHORT TO BITE HUMANS
This tale has been lurking around for years. I have heard it repeatedly in the United States and even heard a schoolteacher misinforming her class at a museum in Brisbane, Australia. This is incorrect, but to clarify it, several points need to be explained first.

The animals
Most folks who retell this tale have no idea that they are referring to two completely separate groups of animals: "daddy-longlegs" and "daddy-longlegs spiders". In the animal class Arachnida, there are several lower level divisions called Orders. Scorpions are in the Order Scorpiones, spiders are in the Order Araneae, ticks and mites are in the Order Acari.

The creatures most correctly called daddy-longlegs are in their own separate Order which is Opiliones. Common names for this Order are 1) daddy-longlegs, 2) harvestmen and 3) opilionids. They are characterized by having one basic body segment which shows segmentation on the posterior portion, at most 2 eyes and all 8 legs attach to the pill-like body segment. They are usually found under logs and rocks, prefer moist habitat although they can be found in the desert, often have long flexible legs (in the temperate Northern hemisphere but there are also short-legged daddy-longlegs) and they do not produce silk so therefore they are never found in webs unless they are being eaten by spiders. Because they are found under logs and other stuff which people most often are not turning over, most folks don't run into daddy-longlegs very often.

Another creature often called daddy-longlegs are actually spiders. These long-legged spiders are in the family Pholcidae. Previously the common name of this family was the cellar spiders but arachnologists have also given them the moniker of "daddy-longlegs spiders" because of the confusion generated by the general public. Because these arachnids are spiders, they have 2 body basic body parts (cephalothorax and abdomen), have 8 eyes most often clumped together in the front of the body, the abdomen shows no evidence of segmentation, have 8 legs all attached to the front most body part (the cephalothorax) and make webs out of silk. This is most probably the animal to which people refer when they tell the tale because these spiders are plentiful especially in cellars (hence their common name) and are commonly seen by the general public. The most common pholcid spiders found in U.S. homes are both European immigrants. Pholcus phalangioides is a uniformly grey spider with rectangular, elongate abdomen and is found throughout the U.S. Holocnemus pluchei also has a rectangular, elongate abdomen but has a brown stripe on the ventral side (the belly side - which is typically directed upwards since the spider hangs upside down in its web) which covers its sternum and is a stripe on the abdomen. These spiders are very common along the Pacific Coast. and into the southwest deserts.

Possible envenomation
Is there any truth to this oft-repeated tale?

Daddy-longlegs (Opiliones) - these arachnids make their living by eating decomposing vegetative and animal matter although are opportunist predators if they can get away with it. They do not have venom glands, fangs or any other mechanism for chemically subduing their food. Therefore, they do not have poison and, by the powers of logic, cannot be poisonous from venom. Some have defensive secretions that might be poisonous to small animals if ingested. So, for these daddy-long-legs, the tale is clearly false.

Daddy-longlegs spiders (Pholcidae) - Here, the myth is incorrect at least in making claims that have no basis in known facts. There is no reference to any pholcid spider biting a human and causing any detrimental reaction. If these spiders were indeed deadly poisonous but couldn't bite humans, then the only way we would know that they are poisonous is by milking them and injecting the venom into humans. For a variety of reasons including Amnesty International and a humanitarian code of ethics, this research has never been done. Furthermore, there are no toxicological studies testing the lethality of pholcid venom on any mammalian system (this is usually done with mice). Therefore, no information is available on the likely toxic effects of their venom in humans, so the part of the myth about their being especially poisonous is just that: a myth. There is no scientific basis for the supposition that they are deadly poisonous and there is no reason to assume that it is true.

What about their fangs being too short to penetrate human skin? Pholcids do indeed have short fangs, which in arachnological terms is called "uncate" because they have a secondary tooth which meets the fang like the way the two grabbing parts of a pair of tongs come together. Brown recluse spiders similarly have uncate fang structure and they obviously are able to bite humans. There may be a difference in the musculature that houses the fang such that recluses have stronger muscles for penetration because they are hunting spiders needing to subdue prey whereas pholcid spiders are able to wrap their prey and don't need as strong a musculature. So, again, the myth states as fact something about which there is no scientific basis.

In summary
For true daddy-long-legs, the opilionids, the myth is certainly false, and for the daddy-long-legs spiders it is certainly not based on known facts.











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Answer 4

1.Daddy longlegs are the most poisonous spiders,but because its teeth are so small it cant bite through human flesh

2.Also,these kinds of spiders arent really spiders because they only have 6 legs,so they're called anthropods or something.

Answer 5

Google it - but for a start - they have the most potent venom in the world, micrgram for micrgram of any spider

Answer 6

they are the most poisonous of all spiders but their fangs are so tiny they can't bite you
they are blind, and use feelers to get around
they enjoy cool shady enviroments
and..haha..this is funny
they squeal if you throw them into a fire..LOL
me and my sister tried it once :]

Answer 7

i dont know anything about daddy long legs but they scare the shiz outta me XD

Answer 8

interesting stuff